


therefore i am

by LuckyPhantom



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Real Person Fiction, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Based on a Billie Eilish Song, Best Friends, Best friends fighting, Ghostbur Needs a Hug, NOT UP TO DATE WITH LORE, Other, Song Lyrics, Therefore I am, Tommy is a big focus, Writing Prompt, and is also a little shit, billie eilish - Freeform, dream and techno being cryptids, kinda outdated, kinda possesed Tubbo, kindaaaaaa, like seriously ghostbur knows what he's doing, tubbo is possesed by shlatt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:34:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29652093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyPhantom/pseuds/LuckyPhantom
Summary: An argument, an encounter, and a conversation.Tommy and Tubbo's feelings come to a crescendo, and the truth comes out.Dream finds Techno in the woods, and tries to speedrun small talk.Ghostbur, Tommy and Techno have a conversation in which some sore spots are prodded.One of those "use a song's lyrics" prompts. I used Billie Eilish's 'therefore i am'.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo/TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Kudos: 22





	therefore i am

**Author's Note:**

> Please note! I wrote most of this ages ago, so it's not up to date with the lore AT ALL! Also, I used _most_ of the lyrics, but there were a few lines I couldn't fit in, so don't go screaming at me!

“Please, Tubbo. You were my friend, my best friend-” 

“I’m not your friend.” He snapped, eyes flashing. “Or anything, for that matter. You’re just- You’re just a child-”

Tommy blinked. Sure, all the adults called him that. But never Tubbo. Tubbo was his friend, his _brother_. They bled together, trained together, were raised together. To hear Tubbo say it was like a stab in the gut. “Oi-”

“-A stupid, _naive_ CHILD. You think that you’re ‘ _the man_ ’-” Tubbo continued mockingly, viciously hooking air quotes as he glared at the taller boy. “-stomping around all self-absorbed. But you can’t even do the _simplest_ things!” 

There was a pause, the kind that gnaws at your bones and the back of your neck. 

Taking a step back, Tommy shook his head. “Damn.” He whispered, gaze falling to the ground. “Maybe Techno was right. I think-”

“Oh, and ‘therefore I am’!” Tubbo rolled his eyes, turning back to the dark forest. “Get over yourself, Tommy.” 

Tommy watched him leave, waiting for a sign, just a flicker of regret. But he kept walking, until the shadows swallowed him up. 

“Maybe I will.”

\-----xXx-----

The hunter landed silently on his chosen perch, not a leaf fluttering out of place. He was silent, for that was his skill, his chosen mastery. Why be a jack when you could be a king? Mediocrity was for those who walked below him. He had to excel.

He wasn’t alone. Not this time, and not really ever. Just beneath him was a man, a king in his own right. They’d never gotten along. Not since… forever. This king wore his crown proudly, much like the hunter. But that was where the similarities ended. 

The hunter’s crown was of his own design. A true hunter is never seen, and he made sure that applied to himself. His face was his crown, and if anyone ever saw it they wouldn’t last to tell of it’s splendor. He was green, the colour of his backdrop.

The one kneeling in the plush grass of the forest floor had a thick circlet of gold, resting among hair dyed redder and redder with the blood he sent flowing to the underworld. Also red was the thick velvet cape, the dark pants. Unseen from this angle, he wore a light white shirt, adorned with more gold that flowed from collar to collar. 

Two hunters. Two kings. Two crowns. Untouched. Broken. 

Dream slipped his legs over the branch, surveying the scene below him. “Look at you.” 

Techno didn’t startle, simply looked up. He blinked slowly, before his lips quirked upwards, revealing the tips of tusk-like fangs that sat on his lower jaw. Rarely would his mouth open enough to reveal all of them. Having identified the newcomer, Techno returned to his task. Items were strewn and scattered all around him, slowly finding their way into the leather packs sitting propped against an oak tree. 

Dream frowned, not that the other could see it. “Top of the world, but your world’s an ideal.” He examined his fingernails, glancing at the half-human to see what response his jab elicited. He was disappointed.

He stilled, before resuming his repetitive motions. “ _Your_ world isn’t _real_.” He finally filled a pack, and tied it off with thick cords. Only two more to go. “And don’t talk about me like you might know how I feel.” He grunted, swallowing to suppress the more animalistic noises trying to rise from his throat. 

The hunter sneered, shifting on his branch. “I really couldn’t care less.” He spat, irritated he was losing. He snatched an apple from a nearby twig, glaring at the red skin. 

Giving up, Techno started shovelling items into the remaining spaces at random, resigning himself to sorting it all later. “I’m leaving.” 

It was Dream’s turn to pause, apple halfway to his mouth. Slowly, he lowered it. 

With all three packs full, the halfbreed tied them up before straightening, arranging them across his back and shoulders. “You can give them my best.” He nodded in the exact direction of the others. “But just know-” 

“Yeah.” Dream cut him off, appetite lost. With a sigh, he threw the untouched apple at his fellow king’s head, secretly hoping it would hit him. It didn’t. In fact, it was caught almost before it left his hand. 

With another hinted smile, he turned, feeding the apple to the horse grazing nearby. 

Furiously, Dream got to his feet. “Got it.” And he left. 

Techno watched him go, following the dark shape through the trees until he couldn’t anymore. He smiled, truly smiled, to himself, shaking his head as he swung a leg over the brown coat and the armour of his steed. 

And he left.

\-----xXx-----

Three friends-

Two allies sat together in the snow. It was a fine day. Freezing, alone, in hiding. They were talking, and another was working in the background. He was a bit different. But Techno loved him, in his own way. 

Tommy was still getting used to it. All of it. After all, snow was not something you’d see in- back there. He used to dream about it though. The snow falling through the dead air, a hand in his as they sat and watched. 

But he was alone. 

Techno was chewing on an apple. “-’cause I hate to find-” 

“Hello!” Soft footprints in the snow drew their eyes, before finding the wavering blue outline of Wilbur. He was more tangible than usual that morning. At least they could see him. “I don’t think I caught your name?” A thin line turned downward in curiosity as light eyes turned to the halfbreed. 

“Hi Wilbur.” He said in return. The ghost was hard to read, but for some reason Techno had finished the novel. “Did you have fun?” He smirked, a tusk glinting in the frozen light. 

“Stop.” Tommy muttered. The last thing they wanted was for Wilbur to remember. “Stop it.” They both knew that. 

Shimmering lines flickered as Wilbur tilted his head. “What the hell are you talking about?” He turned to face Tommy, still standing. 

Something about Wilbur had changed, physically, when he died. He was taller, taller than Tommy now. It didn’t help that he often walked a few inches off the ground. His arms were longer, hands closer to his knees than his hips. His eyes were bigger, sitting flatter on his face. He might as well have been an entirely different person. 

Tommy looked at the snow. It sparkled coldly, the shadows as haunting as they were blue. He shook his head. If he elaborated too much, something was sure to stir within Wilbur. 

“I wanna be nice enough they don’t call my bluff, Tommy.” Techno said, leaning back. “What, can’t I be nice?” He prodded, a mean glint to his eyes. 

Techno had also changed. But not because he’d died. He’d stopped trying to force things down, the noises or the things he wanted to say. Tommy had overheard Phil and Techno talking in the attic a bit, and he knew about the half breed’s ‘voices’. Maybe that had something to do with it. 

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Get my pretty name out of your mouth.” He was tired of being the kid, the idiot, the scapegoat. That was all anyone saw him as. Even Wilbur as he was now, eyes somehow condescending despite the fact they never changed shape.

Techno laughed. Really laughed. “Your name isn’t pretty, and I’ll say it as many times as I like.” 

Wilbur sat, cross-legged. While he was more visible today, it was still easier to see the imprint on the snow. He was staring at it, following the shapes through his own body. “When they say your name I just act confused.” He looked up at Tommy. 

Wilbur often spoke in riddles. He said things he didn’t quite mean. So it hurt all the more.

For once, their eyes met. He blinked rapidly as Wilbur stared, eyes wide and unblinking. “Wil...Wil. Come on Wil. It’s me...” He wiped his eyes. Wilbur kept staring. 

“I’d rather you remain unremarkable.” White eyes stared at the horizon, seeing something else. 

The halfbreed sat up, shoulders hunched. Shrewd eyes glanced at the boy before landing on his boots. “Don’t listen Tommy, he’s… you know.” He trailed off, following Wilbur’s gaze before looking off to one side. 

“I know.” Tommy sniffed. The cold was making his nose run. “I know.” He took a deep breath, dashing his sleeve over his face before sitting up straight. His gaze was unwavering, and Techno was forced to meet it. “Listen, Techno.” 

Techno opened his mouth, but Tommy cut him off. “Fucking _listen._ ”

Techno closed his mouth. 

“We-” He pointed to the two of them, “-are not the same.” Leaning forward slightly as his anger overcame his sadness, he took another breath, the air steaming in the cold. “With or without that- that crown, this war.”

A thick hand twitched, as if to touch the gold, but ultimately didn’t move. 

“We are not the same.” He almost spat, eyes flicking to Wilbur. He hadn’t moved. In fact, it was quite likely that he wasn’t even there anymore. He was starting to fade, and Tommy knew their time had passed, for now. 

The half-breed reclined in the snow again, huffing a laugh. “You don’t need to tell me.” 

Tommy blinked. “I- I don’t want the press to put your name next to mine-”

Techno laughed, the sound devolving into the snorting gurgle of a boar. “Tommy. We’re on different lines. Heck, different pages.” He shook his head, shifting his center of gravity forward so he could start to stand up, having also recognised that Wilbur, while beside him, had left.

Tommy studied the eyes of what was once his best friend. They were soulless and uncaring, but still the same, even fading into the sky. “So-”

“So shut your mouth and go back to your discs.” Techno snapped, brushing the powdered snow off his bloody cape as he stood fully. “The real world wants to continue.” He stomped back to the hut, leaving Tommy alone. 

Finally, the faint figure of Wilbur disappeared into the clouds. If only Tommy could have done the same.


End file.
